Phase 10 Card Game Rules

Phase 10 is Fundex card game designed for two to six players. Players compete to complete 10 sequential phases, with the first player completing “Phase 10” being the winner. The card game was also adapted into a dice game. You can read the Phase 10 Dice Game Rules at “How Do You Play It?”

Choose a dealer, and have them shuffle the deck. Deal 10 cards to every player, and then place the remaining cards in the center of the table. This is the draw pile. Turn the top card of the deck over, and place it beside the draw pile to form the discard pile. Play begins to the left of the dealer.

Wild Cards and Skip Cards

Wild cards can be used in place of any number, or any color. You may use any number of wild cards to complete phases, as long as you have at least one “natural” card in the group. Wild cards cannot be replaced during your hand with the card they represent and moved to a different card group. If a Wild card is on the top of the discard pile at the begging of the game, it can be picked up.

Skip cards cause another player to lose their turn (think Uno). Skip cards cannot be used as a part of a phase, and they cannot be picked up from the discard pile. If the dealer starts the discard pile with a Skip card, the first player is skipped. To play a Skip card, simply discard it from your hand into the discard pile. The next player is skipped. Otherwise play continues around the board as normal.

Sets, Runs, and Flushes

Runs consist of four or more cards in numerical order. The cards do not have to be the same colors. Wild cards can be used to complete runs.

Sets consist of two or more cards of the same number. Sets can include numbers from any color.

Flushes, or “All One Color” as they are called in the official rules, are formed by having a group of cards that are all the same color. Wild cards can be used as part of flushes. Cards can be in numerical order, but do not have to be.

Phase 10 Phases

Phase 1: 2 sets of 3 Phase 2: 1 set of 3 and 1 run of 4 Phase 3: 1 set of 4 and 1 run of 4 Phase 4: 1 run of 7 Phase 5: 1 run of 8 Phase 6: 1 run of 9 Phase 7: 2 sets of 4 Phase 8: 7 cards of one color (flush) Phase 9: 1 set of 5 and 1 set of 2 Phase 10: 1 set of 5 and 1 set of 3

Game Play

Players draw a card from either the deck or the top of the discard pile at the beginning of their turn. At the end of their turn, they must discard a single card.

Completing Phases

Players must complete phases in numerical order, and only one phase may be completed in a round. When you are able to fully meet the requirements of the phase, you may lay it onto the board. Additionally, you may play extra cards as you play the phase if they fit into the phase. For example, if you completed phase 1, “2 sets of 3” you could play three 4’s and three 6’s. You could play additional fours or sixes as part of your sets, but you could not add a different set.

Hitting

After making a phase, players may “hit” onto other phases in play. The cards you add to the completed phases must fit into the phase, and you can only hit after your own phase is in play.

Ending the Round

Players end the round by playing all of the cards from their hand. The player who goes out first wins the hand and scores zero points. The rest of the players score points (points are bad). Players who completed their phase move on to the next phase. Any players who were unable to complete their phase during the round must attempt to complete it again during the next round.

If you score points, don’t sweat it too much. They are only intended to break ties, as the player who completes Phase 10 is the winner. Points only come into play if two or more players completing phase 10 in the same hand. In this case, the player with the lowest points wins.

In the rare instance that the winning players have the same score, they replay phase 10, with the the first to go out being declared the winner.